


A good man

by SugdenLovesDingle



Series: Robert week 2020 [1]
Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Jack is alive because reasons, M/M, Supportive Aaron, slightly AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:39:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25953067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SugdenLovesDingle/pseuds/SugdenLovesDingle
Summary: Robert week 2020day 1: dream storylineJack moves back to Emmerdale and Robert finally gets to confront him about the past.orRobert vs Jack
Relationships: Aaron Dingle/Robert Sugden
Series: Robert week 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1883644
Comments: 4
Kudos: 81





	A good man

Of all the things Robert had expected to happen when he’d thought of the year ahead on new year’s eve, his father turning up in the village wasn’t one of them.

In hindsight, he should have known he’d turn up sooner or later after his gran died and left both him and Vic (and Andy but they’d decided to split that between Jack and Sarah) some money. Just to make sure they spent it wisely.

Robert had avoided him as much as possible during the funeral and flat out refused to meet with his gran’s solicitor in person when she’d mentioned Jack would be there too when she read the will, but roughly a month or two ago now, there he was, talking to Eric in the middle of the village like nothing had ever happened and it was just a regular day.

Though seeing Robert settled down and happily married to another man (and a Dingle at that) with a son and a second child on the way was probably not exactly what Jack had expected to find either.

Or that Robert had used Annie’s money to help pay for surrogacy.

It wasn’t easy, having Jack back in the village and everyone (especially Vic and Diane) worshipping the ground he walked on, like he was a soldier returning from war.

Everyone apart from Aaron, Liv, and Seb.

On days where Robert felt like the 15 year old boy again Jack had beat the crap out of for liking boys, Aaron was there with something to make him feel better.

A walk around the fields surrounding the village with Seb and Monty, his favourite take out and control of the tv for an entire evening, or an empty house courtesy of Liv and an early night with his husband.

They were in the pub now, celebrating. They’d just come back from the hospital where they’d found out they were having a little girl. Robert couldn’t stop staring at the scan picture but at the same time he was overly aware of Jack sitting just a few meters away on the other side of the bar.

He had Harry in his lap and Robert could hear the little boy shrieking with joy. Seb was weary of Jack, which secretly pleased Robert, but Harry adored him. Just like his mother Robert supposed.

Aaron was at the bar getting the drinks in and Seb was busy playing with a little toy dinosaur Vinny had found in the glove compartment of an old car, which left Robert alone with his thoughts.

He wondered what their little girl would look like, what her personality would be like. Would she love her dads just like her big brother? Would she adore Jack just like her cousin? Would she hate him at 15 if he didn’t let her get to know her grandfather?

“Ooh did you get that done today?”

Laurel was standing next to their table, looking at the scan picture in his hand.

“Oh uh yeah. We just got back.”

“Yeah? Is everything alright? How many weeks are you now?” She asked and laughed a little at her choice of words. “Well I mean your surrogate obviously.”

Their surrogacy journey was the talk of the village, with all mums giving them advice and letting them in on the secrets of parenting. Like they hadn’t been doing pretty well with Seb the past 3 years without their help.

“Yeah, yeah everything is fine. It’s all looking good. We’re almost 15 weeks. This was supposed to be the 12 week scan but it got delayed a bit.” Robert explained.

“Oh twelve weeks? You can tell by then can’t you? Boy or girl. Are you finding out?”

Robert nodded and looked at the scan picture.

“Yeah we are. We found out we’re having a girl. Seb’s going to have a little sister.”

Laurel smiled.

“That’s nice. I’ll have a look for you two for Dottie’s old clothes. There might be some things you’d like for your little girl.”

“That’s really nice of you. Thanks.”

“Oh you’re welcome.” Laurel patted his shoulder. “It’s nothing. It’s just taking up space in the attic anyway.” She waved his comment away. “Have you thought of a name yet?”

“Well we should probably name her after Rob’s gran.” Aaron walked up to the table carrying two pints and an orange juice for Seb. “Without her none of this would be happening. We’d still be scraping together the pennies if she hadn’t left us that money.”

“Us?” Jack seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. “She left her grandchildren money. That doesn’t include you.”

Aaron grinned and held up his left hand. For a second Robert thought he was giving Jack the finger but quickly realised what he was doing.

“This ring and the paperwork we have back home says otherwise. She might not have met me and my name might not have been in her will, but that money was for Robert to spend how he pleased. With me. On surrogacy for our child. Our second child.” He sat down at the table and took a sip of his pint. “Oh and it’s a girl by the way. You’re getting a granddaughter. In case you wanted to know.”

“Well… I uh better go. I’ll let you know about those clothes.” Laurel said, wanting to get as far away as possible from the family drama that was about to unfold.

“Sure. Thanks again Laurel.” Robert called out after her, part of him wishing she’d stay so he’d have something else to focus on other than his father.

“Are you taking hand outs now, Robert? Why aren’t you providing for your son? I didn’t raise you like this.”

“No we all know your parenting style, dad.” Robert stood up, something had snapped inside of him and he had to get it out. “I do provide for my son. We both do. We both own businesses, I am successful, Home James is doing well, people call me asking to work with them, not the other way around. I’ve made a name for myself. I worked hard just like you always told me to. But you know what else I did? I fell in love. I got married to an amazing man. Twice. I am a father, a husband, a brother, an uncle, a friend, a neighbour… I am a lot of things… but most of all, I am bisexual. And proud. No matter how hard you tried to beat the queer out of me at fifteen.”

“I… I never laid a hand on you!” Jack sputtered

“No? Did I imagine you leathering me when you caught me with a boy in my room then?”

“I – I…”

“Or are we still pretending it was for skiving? And that you sacked that boy because he didn’t do his job properly?”

“That was true! He was a slacker! Only ever did the bare minimum.”

Robert shook his head.

“No, he was no worse than any other farmhand we had. The only difference was that he liked me. And you couldn’t handle your son kissing a boy. Liking a boy.”

“I – I… have nothing against gay people.” Jack settled on, all too aware of the eyes of half the village being on them.

“Yeah, as long as it’s not your own son, right?”

“No, no, I… I -”

“Forget it dad. It’s taken me a long time but I’m finally happy with who I am. I’m happy and I’m going to do everything I can to be the best dad I can be for my kids.” Robert said and looked down at Seb who was curiously watching the conversation.

He smiled and stroked the boy’s head.

“I love you so much.” He looked up and met Aaron’s eyes. “And I love you too.”

“I love you too. Do you want to get out of here and go home?”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

“Robert, wait.” Jack grabbed his arm to stop him from walking away. “I only ever did what was best for you. For all three of you.”

Robert nodded and pulled his arm from Jack’s grip.

“You had a funny way of showing.”

A few weeks passed in which Robert did his best to avoid both his father and his sister. Vic had called and texted him, asking if what he’d said in the pub was true, but he couldn’t bring himself to talk to her and defend himself.

“We could get some of those stencil things instead of wallpaper.” Aaron suggested, leaning against the kitchen counter, sipping his drink. “I’ve seen it online, it looks nice.”

They were decorating the nursery for their little girl but kept changing their minds on what they actually wanted it to look like. So far they’d only managed to clear out the spare room, paint the walls white, and put together some furniture.

“Yeah but wallpaper is easier. We did wallpaper for Seb’s room too.” Robert argued. “And I saw this really cute kind with fairies and animals and all that in Hotten the other day.”

Aaron narrowed his eyes.

“The other day? When your meeting ran late and you couldn’t make it to Tesco in time for the weekly shop and you got chips instead?”

“It did run late! And I had to park on the other side of town because of construction… and then I may have wandered into a store or two… And I fancied chips.” Robert admitted laughingly. “But it was really cute. Maybe we can go check it out when we pick Seb up from nursery tomorrow. We’ll leave a little earlier and have a look.”

“Or we could order the stencils I found online.” Aaron replied and pulled something up on his phone.

“Yeah but then there’s the paint fumes… that can’t be healthy.”

“Like today you mean?” Aaron asked and handed Robert his phone. “We’ll do it when Seb’s at the farm. And open a window.”

Just as Robert was about to argue that simply opening a window wouldn’t be enough, the doorbell rang.

“I’ll go.” Aaron announced. “It’s probably Laurel with Dottie’s clothes. You don’t know how to say no to her and we’re not dressing our daughter like the vicar’s daughter. I’ll get rid of her, you order the stencils.”

“We haven’t decided anything yet!” Robert called out as Aaron walked out the flat door to open the front door.

“What are you doing here?” Aaron demanded when he saw Jack standing on the other side of the door.

“Coming to see my son.” Jack replied, sounding tired and defeated.

“We’re busy. And you’re just about the last person he wants to see.”

“You decide who he talks to now?”

“No, but I know my husband and I know how much you’ve hurt him in the past, and I’m not letting you do that again.”

“I’m only here to talk. I never intentionally hurt him.”

Aaron snorted.

“That’s not what he told me.”

“I’m not here to argue with you. Just let me in or go get Robert.”

“Why would I do either of those things?”

“Because I’m his father and I have a right to see my son.”

“Being a father means loving and supporting your kids no matter what, not constantly putting them up against each other and bullying them into behaving the way you want them to.” Aaron told him, squaring up for a fight. “And Robert is 1000 times the father you were. He loves our son and he pushes himself to always be the best he can be for him. Seb is going to grow up knowing his parents love him and that he can be anything he wants to be.”

“I just wanted my son to have a good life.”

“So do we. But we want him to have the good life he wants, not what we think he should want.”

“Aaron? What’s going on?” Robert’s voice came from inside the house and a moment later he appeared in the doorway next to his husband. “Dad? Why are you here?”

“I need to talk to you. But he won’t let me in.” Jack said, close to losing his patience with Aaron.

“I never said that. I said we were busy.”

Robert looked back and forth between his husband and his father for a minute and then sighed.

“Come in. Let’s talk.”

Aaron gave him a look that said he wasn’t happy but didn’t say anything and stepped aside to let Jack in.

The three of them walked into the flat and Jack awkwardly looked around.

“Nice place this. Bigger than I expected.”

“We designed and built everything ourselves.” Robert told him. “Liv did her own room though. And we’re working on the nursery for the baby now.”

“But you’re not here to talk about interior design, are you Jack?” Aaron interrupted.

“He’s impatient, isn’t he?” Jack nodded at Aaron. “Aren’t you going to make your old man a brew, Robert?”

“No, because you’re not staying. So just say what you came here to say and then leave.”

Jack seemed to be taken aback by Robert’s tone and took a minute to get his bearings.

“I… I’ve been talking to your sister. She told me about you two. Showed me some pictures from your wedding… You looked happy.”

“We were. We are.” Robert confirmed and Jack nodded.

“She said.” He paused. “You got married on your mum and mine’s wedding day didn’t you? October 5th.”

“Yes. We did that so she’d still be there in a way.”

Jack nodded again and moved to the sofa, pulling one of Seb’s action figures out from under him as he sat down.

“You had something like this. You never let it our of your sight.” He told Robert. “You even had a matching cape that you wore 24/7.”

“That is mine. Diane kept it and gave it to me when we moved in here. Seb likes playing with it.”

“Right, right.” Jack said and focused on the action figure. “Is your little lad not around?”

“He’s up at the farm with my family.” Aaron told him.

“Cain has a son of about the same age. They’re best friends.” Robert explained. “But why are you here dad?”

“I just… want you to know that I’m happy you’re happy. You’re a good man and a good father to your boy, and I’m proud of you.”

Robert barked out a hollow laugh.

“You have no idea how long I waited to hear you say that.”

“I know I should’ve told you more often when you were a kid… but I mean it, I am proud of you. You did good.”

“Yeah, no thanks to you.” Robert snapped. “Do you know how long it took me to accept myself for who I am? To let myself love another man?”

“I -”

“Fifteen years dad. Fifteen years. I always tried so hard to be the man I thought I had to be. The one that you would approve of. I married the wrong person, or the right person for the wrong reasons… I wanted status and money and stopped at nothing to get it. I hate that person now.”

“I never told you to do any of those things!” Jack protested.

“When I met Aaron, I was so deep in the closet, I wouldn’t even let myself think of him, of loving him. I kept telling myself he meant nothing to me and we wasted so much time! All because of you! I had your voice in my head telling me that no son of yours would ever be a pervert like that. Because that’s what you said to me at fifteen and kept saying to me until you sent me away!”

Robert paused to breathe and Aaron could tell he was gearing up for a long overdue fight.

“I’m bisexual, dad. It’s who I am, who I’ve always been… but I ignored it. I hid it. I buried it. Because you couldn’t handle a queer son and made damn sure I knew it. I tried to be the man you always told me to be… but I couldn’t. I can’t. Because I’m not and I never will be.”

“I… I had no idea… I just… tried to raise you to be a good man. Hard working, a good father…”

“I am those things. But my kids will never wonder if I love them because I will make sure they know. They’ll never have to hide who they are because they will know both of us will love them no matter what.” He reached out for Aaron’s hand. “Whenever I don’t know what to do… I think of what you would do and do the exact opposite. That’s how I know our kids are going to be alright. I won’t let history repeat itself.”

Jack looked uncomfortable, which Aaron secretly enjoyed. Payback really was a bitch. He gave Robert’s hand a small squeeze as support.

“I… I’m sorry you feel that way… Let me make it up to you.” Jack offered but Robert shook his head.

“I don’t need your approval anymore. I live my life the way I want and right now… it’s perfect.” He said and looked at Aaron and gave him a small smile.

“Right… well…” Jack stood up. “I uh… am glad to hear that. I hope we can move on now and let the past be the past.”

“Things aren’t magically ok now just because you said sorry, dad.”

“You can’t avoid me forever, Robert, this village is too small.”

“I know. And I’m not planning to. I’ll live my life, you live yours. I’ll say hi if I see you in the shop or the café, I’ll greet you in the street, I’ll even tell Seb who you are and let him decide if he wants to know you when he’s older, but we’re not friends. Too much has happened.”

“Right. Ok… I… understand…”

“Do you dad? Do you really? Do you understand how much it hurt to always be second best to Andy? To be told over and over again that I was more trouble than I was worth? That I wasn’t good enough? That I didn’t deserve to be loved?”

“I never meant that…”

“But it happened and sometimes I still feel self-conscious for kissing my husband in public or even holding his hand. Sometimes I take a little too long to correct someone when they ask about my wife… and you did that. And I don’t think I can just forgive and forget and sit down to have a pint with you down the pub.”

Jack nodded.

“Ok. That… if that’s your decision… I’ll accept it. I uh… I should go. I promised your sister I’d take Harry for the afternoon.” He walked towards the door and paused before opening it. “For what it’s worth, I really am happy you’re happy and I really am proud of the man you’ve become.”

Robert nodded but didn’t move as Jack opened the door and left. It wasn’t until he heard the outside door open and close that he let out a breath and all but collapsed in Aaron’s arms.

“I am so proud of you.” Aaron whispered and dropped a kiss in his hair. “I love you so much and I’m so fucking proud of you for standing up to him. You’re amazing and he’s mad not to see that.”

Robert let himself be held and just breathed in Aaron’s scent.

“I love you too.” He mumbled against Aaron’s neck. “Thanks for never giving up on me.”

“I could never.” Aaron told him. “We’re a team, you and me.”

Robert nodded and pulled back slightly so he could look Aaron in the eye.

“But I still think we should go for the wallpaper with the fairies.”


End file.
